You might have heard about the recent AP-Ipsos poll on reader habits - the one that offered up the cheery news that one in four adults hadn't read a book in the past year.

While many have been speculating on the reasons for this (but not me, considering that I would rather not to plunge into a massive depression at this time), it wasn't the only finding to generate talk. The poll also managed to stir the political pot with this simple news: Liberals read more than conservatives.

Those, as we might have guessed, turned out to be fightin' words.

Pat Schroeder lobbed the first grenade. The former liberal congresswoman from Colorado, now head of the American Association of Publishers, said the poll makes sense, in that: "The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: 'No, don't raise my taxes, no new taxes. It's pretty hard to write a book saying, 'No new taxes' on every page."

By contrast, liberals "want the whole picture, want to peel the onion."

No sooner had her comment hit the news wire than conservative bloggers were throwing her in a Swift Boat to Hades.

Wrote Matthew Sheffield on his blog, NewsBusters: Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias: "For all their talk about being 'regular people,' the left sure loves calling their fellow citizens stupid and moronic."

Another conservative said this: "Pat Schroeder is a moron."

So much for ideological unity. (The latter comment, by the way, is from someone calling themselves Magical Pat, posting on the blog Ankle Biting Pundits.)

I have to admit, it's amusing watching conservative bloggers bending over backwards to try to discredit the poll. Seems like a mere shrug is what these particular findings require. The poll showed that among those who said they had read at least one book, liberals read an average of nine books a year, conservatives eight. Let's be honest, we aren't exactly talking the difference between Einstein and Forrest Gump here.

And who knows what these books are anyway? Schroeder and her Internet foes assume people are reading complex treatises on global politics and military strategy. News flash: Even politicos enjoy a good thriller now and then.

If it's any indication of how the 2008 election year might go, I'd suggest we all throw on our waders and get ready to slog through some muck. On the other hand, we could also sit on the sidelines and read a book.

Hey, wouldn't next year's pollsters be surprised?

AND SPEAKING OF CONTROVERSIAL FINDINGS . . .

The same AP-IPsos survey revealed that those who said they attend religious services regularly read about half the number of books as those who don't attend services frequently. Oddly enough, though, two- thirds of survey participants claimed they read the Bible and other religious works, which beat all other categories.

Does this mean people are skipping services to plow through King James? Are non- churchgoers simply lying about reading the Bible in a fit of guilt? Have the pollsters been sipping too much of that communion wine?

Beats me. But feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

LOOMING DATE

Lawrence Wright, author of the acclaimed The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage, $15.95), about the history of terrorism and the lead-up to Sept. 11, 2001, comes to Denver Thursday. The Pulitzer Prize-winner's talk - bound to be fascinating - is sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Denver Press Club, and will be held on the 10th floor of the Denver Newspaper Agency building, 101 W. Colfax Ave. A reception begins at 6 p.m.; the author's talk at 7 p.m.

Reception and talk (including an autographed copy of the paperback edition of the book) is $35; talk alone, $15. Reservations required: spj.org/colorado